Gateway grad Bill Schweigart pens novel inspired by the sea

Bill Schweigart, a Gateway graduate, wrote a novel, 'Slipping the Cable.'Photo provided

While growing up in Woodbury Heights, there were subtle indications that Bill Schweigart one day might turn to writing.

The 1991 Gateway Regional High School graduate was initially inspired to write short stories by a teacher, John Howard, whose class he loved.

His first attempt to author a book — “Heidi the Tidy Elf” — resulted from his father Bill’s Christmas morning ritual of filling trash bags with wrapping paper as soon as the gifts were opened. He’s still seeking a publisher for that one, but has developed a helpful hints website, heidithetidy.com.

At the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he graduated in 1995, Bill won a writing contest and the $100 prize that went with it.

Then, after graduating from the Academy in 1995 and spending time on a cutter, Schweigart’s first novel, “Slipping the Cable,” a four-year nautical thriller project, was born. He accepted a contract by Martin Sisters Publishing.

Schweigart, whose full-time job is with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Infrastructure Protection, recalls that the idea for this book came when he was nursing a case of acute seasickness.

The cover of Bill Schweigart's book, 'Slipping the Cable,' is shown.Photo provided

“Being at sea was incredible, except when conditions made me wish I was somewhere else,” says Schweigart, a former Coast Guard officer whose sea-writing heroes include, not surprisingly, Ernest Hemingway. “That’s how ‘Slipping the Cable’ was born, during those times I wished to be somewhere else.”

Schweigart’s novel follows the cutter Sentinel’s path to disaster, amid drug smugglers, treacherous storms and dangers inherent at sea, because of a battle of wills and wits between two officers.

Because of his hectic work schedule, Schweigart did most of his writing on weekends. But he has accelerated his writing and is busy working on a second novel, “The Beast of Barcroft,” which he describes as “a supernatural thriller stalking the residents of Arlington (Virginia),” where he lives with his wife Kate and their five-year-old daughter Sidney.

“I enjoy the process of writing,” Schweigart says. “But it would be a long time before I could do this full-time.”

Book profile: “Schweigart’s debut is a modern entry to the rich tradition of the sea novel: Everyone is confined aboard ship, tensions run high, and the setting itself is deadly, but not nearly as deadly as his characters. If you have ever suffered an impossible loss, ever wanted to fall off the grid and start over fresh, or just wanted to lose yourself in a high seas and high stakes adventure, ‘Slipping the Cable’ is a must read.”

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Bill’s dad died in 2111. His mom, Linda, still resides in Woodbury Heights. Bill says he’s not the most famous member of the Gateway Class of 1991. Peerless jazz trumpet player Winston Byrd gets that nod.